Hoping to make some homemade edible gifts that are sure to impress? Make petit fours. Featuring confetti cake layered with raspberry jam and buttercream and covered in a shiny white glaze, these stunning mini cakes will delight anyone who receives them.

Petit fours were invented in the 19th century, when French bakers discovered that they could capitalize on the residual heat of their bread oven’s cool-down setting (also known as “petit four,” or small oven) to bake small treats to sell. These delicacies have since been refined into a variety of small exquisite pastries, now sold all over the world. The tiny glazed cakes that we think of as petit fours are just one of these types, specifically called petit fours glace.  20 X 7 X 4 Bakery Box With Window

While petit fours may appear tricky to make, the process is actually very straightforward. There are a few tips, however, which will make your life MUCH easier along the way to petit four perfection.

- Always be chilling. These cakes will be easiest to work with if they’re completely cold. Chill the cake slabs before you fill and stack them, then chill the stacked cake again before attempting to cut it into squares. Finally, for best results, I recommend freezing the cake squares completely before glazing. If you’re tempted to skip one of these chilling periods, DON’T. The cake layers will slide apart, the jam will ooze out, and your buttercream will melt when you try to glaze it… less than ideal. - Cut the squares with a serrated knife. A regular chef’s knife is ideal for cutting the cake into strips, but if you use a chef’s knife to cut the strips into squares, the jam tends to squirt out from between the cake layers. For this step, I recommend using a serrated knife and even small sawing motions to cut your cake into neat squares. - Keep the glaze warm with a double-boiler. This glaze is designed to harden into a shell as it cools, which is great once it’s coating the petit fours, but not exactly desirable when it’s in the bowl and you’re trying to use it. To keep it at the ideal pourable consistency, keep the glaze in a bowl set over a small pot containing 1" hot water that’s warmed over very low heat (this is known as a double boiler). The steam from the water should warm the glaze just enough to keep the consistency smooth. If the water gets too cold, you can turn up the heat under the pot just a bit. If the glaze seems to be getting too hot (hot enough to melt the buttercream on the cake), turn it off entirely. It takes some monitoring, but it’s definitely worthwhile.

Made these? Let us know in the comments below.

(1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Food coloring, for icing (optional)

In a medium bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and salt until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add vanilla and half of confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth, then add remaining confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes more. Set aside until ready to use.

Taylor Ann Spencer is the assistant food editor at Delish, where she develops recipes, creates recipe videos, and styles food. With a background in writing and theater as well as professional cooking, she enjoys sharing her love for global flavors and all things baking through informational posts, hosted videos, and just plain everyday conversations. When she's not cooking, she's brainstorming her next culinary mash-up. Mac 'n' cheese chili rellenos, anyone?

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